Totman Medical Research Trust

Vision

A premier research center on brain blood vessels, the Totman Medical Research Trust supports an interdepartmental, highly interactive research group focused on key aspects of brain artery function from molecules to clinical applications.

History

Mr. Ray W. Totman, a businessman from Malone, NY, established a foundation that would benefit medical schools in the New England area, particularly UVM in the mid-80s with net assets of $2-$3M. Mr. Totman was an oil distributor and owned several gas stations in Malone. He and his wife had no children. Mr. Totman was disabled and he wanted his estate to be used to further medical research and to find solutions for health problems, particularly stroke research.

Mr. Totman died in 1988, and in the fall of that same year, UVM learned that $150,000 was bequeathed to the College of Medicine with the possibility of additional funds with proper proposals. All gifts were to be exclusively devoted to scientific or medical research in areas such as cancer, heart disease or any other disease his trustees might select. In his will, Mr. Totman singled out UVM as one of four institutions that would benefit from his foundation.

The first gift to UVM was received in August 1989 in the amount of $250,000. At that time, UVM established the "Ray W. Totman and Ildah Totman Medical Research Fund". The money was used to "construct, equip and operate a laboratory for scientific and medical research concerning Ischemic Cerebrovascular Disease". The Totman Lab was established in the Department of Pharmacology, under Dr. John Bevan, Chair, and Dr. Rosemary Bevan. Since 1996 it has been under the supervision of Dr. Mark T. Nelson, Chair of the Department of Pharmacology.

The Totman Foundation contributions totaling over $4.25 million as of 2017, have enabled Dr. Nelson and his colleagues to make significant scientific discoveries in cerebrovascular research that have been published in esteemed journals and have received international recognition. This recognition has helped our researchers to secure significant funding from the NIH and international sources.

The following is a list of the Trustees and their years of service.

William Herron 1988-1993

Marguerite Boyer 1988-1995

Donald E. Stone 1988-2014

Robert G. Main, Jr. 1993-1998

Jeffrey Stone 1995-present

Arlene Howard 1998-present

Donald Stone, Jr. 2014-present

The following is a list of Deans of the UVM College of Medicine and their service during the Totman Foundation relationship.